Wearable protective gear such as helmets and goggles are often fitted with straps that serve to hold the protective gear in place on the body. Similar straps serve as handles on luggage, briefcases, or other items intended to be carried or manipulated by hand. The manner in which such straps are connected to and interact with the foregoing and similar items determines to a large degree how comfortable the items are, and how easy they are to use. Existing straps for carrying an object or for retaining an object on the body are connected to the object rigidly and permanently. Such rigid and permanent connections tend to be fairly secure and long-lasting but also tend to make the object uncomfortable, hard to use, and/or difficult to repair. Accordingly, there exists a need for a strap assembly that is easily attached to and removed from an object and that promotes comfort and ease of use by providing a rotatable connection.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical, mechanical, or other manner.